


Leap of Faith

by amazingpages



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, Arthur is a Butthead, Domestic Disputes, Fluff and Angst, M/M, but they love each other so it all works out, with a capital B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 16:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1906326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazingpages/pseuds/amazingpages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t bear to watch while Arthur broke up with him. It was hard enough having Arthur so close, holding his hand so gently, as though that would make the pain any less brutal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leap of Faith

“Damn it, Merlin!”

Merlin slammed the kettle angrily onto the stove, his hand wrapped around the handle in a vice-like grip. Across the room, Arthur threw up his arms in exasperation when the silence continued on.

“Why can’t you even just consider the idea?” Merlin gritted out.

“Consider what?” Arthur prodded. “Moving to an entirely new neighborhood when this one is perfectly fine?” He clapped his hands together in mock delight. “Or, I know! How about we get rid of this lovely house for no reason at all?”

“It’s not for _no reason_!” Merlin yelled. He yanked open a cabinet door and pulled down a bag of tea leaves to prepare. After fumbling with the bag for a few moments he turned to face Arthur, gripping the counter behind him tightly. “Don’t you want to have a home together?”

“We’ve been over this!” Arthur shouted back. “We already _have_ a home. _Here_. What do we need a new one for?”

Merlin shook his head. “Then why won’t you let me do anything to it? I can’t even paint a bloody wall without you taking over!”

“Well, of course not. It’s _my_ house! My name is on the lease.”

“See!” Merlin pointed an accusing finger at Arthur. “That’s exactly it! It’s not _ours_ , it’s _yours_. And you’re so bent on controlling every single fucking thing that I can’t even have a say in anything about our relationship.”

Arthur laughed in sheer disbelief. “Oh, so first the house is the problem, and now it’s _us_?” He spread his arms wide. “I didn’t realize I was such a terrible hardship on you. Do forgive me. It’s not like anyone’s forcing you to stay where you’re clearly unhappy.”

Merlin turned back to the stove and began fussing with the tea again, his mouth pressed in a flat line. “I’m not unhappy, Arthur.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Arthur glared down at the table with his arms crossed.

“I just...it’s been five years since I moved in,” Merlin said. “I feel like things should be different.”

Arthur grunted. “I really don’t see any problem with how things are going.”

“Of course you don’t.” As the kettle began to whistle shrilly, Merlin took it off of the heat and just shook his head. “You always run from serious commitment. What’s wrong with moving our relationship along a bit?”

Arthur couldn’t help the furrow between his brows. “We _are_ moving along.”

“No, that’s just it,” Merlin said. “We’re not.” He paused, rubbing a hand down his face. “Are we—do you not want _more_ , Arthur? Is it something I’m doing wrong? If you don’t want this, you should just tell me.” His voice cracked on the last part, and he refused to look up at Arthur.

Arthur pushed away from the table abruptly, stalking out of the kitchen and leaving Merlin looking devastated.

Merlin couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes as he leaned back heavily against the counter. He hadn’t expected Arthur to just give up so easily. They always fought about the house, but it’d never blown up into something so huge before.

He heard Arthur coming back and hurried to wipe the tears from his face, not wanting to show how wrecked he really was over their fight. When Arthur walked back in, he didn’t go back to the table, but instead came over to stand in front of Merlin, his movements hesitant.

“I...” Arthur cleared his throat, staring at Merlin as though searching for some kind of validation. “Fuck, Merlin. I’ve been trying to think for months how to do this, but there never seemed to be a good time.”

Merlin held up a hand to stop Arthur, not wanting to hear the rest. “Look, you don’t have to—”

“ _Yes_ ,” Arthur cut him off, grabbing Merlin’s hand with his own. “I do.” He took a deep breath before continuing on. “I just couldn’t find a way that seemed right, and so I’ve just put it off. But that was clearly a mistake. I’ve been tormenting the both of us by keeping up the charade.”

Merlin squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t bear to watch while Arthur broke up with him. It was hard enough having Arthur so close, holding his hand so gently, as though that would make the pain any less brutal.

“Merlin. Look at me,” Arthur begged. After a pause he added, “ _Please_.”

After taking a bracing breath, Merlin opened his eyes, but Arthur wasn’t standing there any longer. He’d dropped to one knee before Merlin and suddenly it was like the breath was sucked straight out of his lungs. Arthur smiled faintly up at him, his free hand pulling a small box out of his trouser pocket.

“Merlin, I know I’m not the best person. I can be difficult, and controlling, and generally terrible to live with. I’ve never met someone who puts up with me like you do. You even seem to _like_ my brutish ways sometimes,” Arthur chuckled. He brought Merlin’s hand up to his lips and brushed a kiss across his knuckles. “But I _am_ committed to this relationship, and I’m sorry if it seemed like I wasn’t, or as if I didn’t care. I care about you so fucking much, Merlin. These last five years have meant the world to me, and I can’t imagine having lived them without you.”

Arthur let go of Merlin’s hand for a moment to open the box, revealing a thin platinum ring nestled inside of it. He picked up Merlin’s hand again and squeezed it. “I love you, Merlin. And I was trying to find the perfect way to propose but something always seemed to go wrong; you know I’m absolutely terrible at this romantic shit.”

Merlin chuckled wetly, tears now streaming happily down his face.

“But none of that matters. I just want you. Nothing else makes a difference. We can move, if that’s what you want. You can paint every bloody wall in the house neon pink for all I care. I just want us to be together when you do,” Arthur pleaded. “I want us to _always_ be together. Merlin, will you marry me?”

Merlin couldn’t seem to make his throat work past the tears, so instead he nodded vigorously, pulling Arthur to his feet so he could press a hard kiss to his lips. Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin’s waist, pressing forward until they were flush together. They made out feverishly for a few minutes, before settling into more languid kisses. The countertop dug painfully into Merlin’s hip but he couldn’t care less, tightening his hold around Arthur’s neck and pressing their foreheads together. Arthur had just _proposed_!

Merlin giggled to himself, sighing happily.

“What?” Arthur murmured against his lips.

Merlin smiled, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Our bedroom is going to look so lovely painted neon pink.”

He burst out into another fit of giggles that Arthur promptly muffled with a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. The-break-up-is-actually-a-proposal thing's been done about a million times already. But it's so great! Can you blame me for adding one more fic to the pile? :)
> 
> This fic actually went unfinished for the longest time, because I have a bad habit of half-writing little plot bunnies and then abandoning them mid-sentence. I also sometimes do it to torment my friends when they stalk my writing on GoogleDocs:
> 
>   
> Love you, Carrie! ;)  
>  
> 
> Come visit me on [tumblr](http://miss-emrys.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
